One of the country's top businesswomen has revealed how she was once stalked down the street by a man who disagreed with her having an Indian boyfriend.

Chief Executive of Virgin Money, Jayne-Anne Gadhia, told Radio 4's Desert Island Discs programme that the early years of her relationship with husband Ashok were marred by racist incidents.

She revealed that Ashok's family had anticipated an arranged marriage for their son, and the young couple were forced to keep their blossoming love affair a secret - with drama ensuing when their relationship was finally exposed.

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Jayne-Anne Gadhia appeared on Desert Island Discs on Sunday and revealed that the early years of her relationship with her husband Ashok saw the couple suffer abuse over their mixed-race relationship

Gadhia told Radio 4 presenter Kirsty Young that she was once regularly chased down the street by a man who shouted abuse at her because he'd found out she was dating an Indian man

Speaking to the show's presenter, Kirsty Young, Gadhia revealed how she endured abuse by people unhappy that she was dating a man of Indian origin.

Gadhia says: 'I remember I was just finishing my degree and I'd gone home to study for my finals.

'I used to study in Norfolk County Library and there would be a man that would wait for me afterwards and chase me down the street and he'd shout after me because he knew that my boyfriend was Indian.'

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On another occasion, a 'particularly racist' colleague at Ernst and Whinney (now EY, formerly Ernst and Young) refused to sign Gadhia's wedding card because he disagreed with her mixed-race marriage.

She explains that the incident upset her but 'I don't recall saying to him what I would certainly say to him today.'

The couple, who met 37 years ago at a bar during freshers' week at Royal Holloway University and have a 15-year-old daughter together, Amy, kept their relationship a secret from Ashok's family and he would be forced to go and meet 'potential wives'.

She explains: 'I was kept a big secret for quite a long time.

'I never stopped him from going to see these potential new wives. I think I was always confident that nothing would come of it.'

Gadhia has risen through the ranks and has been Virgin's CEO since 2007 (pictured with Virgin founder Sir Richard Branson) but told Desert Island Discs listeners that a colleague at Ernst and Whinney (now EY, formerly Ernst and Young) refused to sign her wedding card because she wasn't marrying a white man

The 55-year-old mother-of-one opened up earlier this year about her battle with post-natal depression following the birth of her daughter, Amy, now fifteen

Eventually, their relationship was exposed when a burglary finally blew their cover - and the fact that he was living in her family home.

She says: 'The truth came out and his mum first said to him "I don't think I ever want to see you again", and an hour later [she] rang back and said "Of course I do, bring her down tomorrow."

She reveals that she assumed her presence the next day at a family gathering in Southhall, west London, had gone well until Ashok's young cousins enlightened her.

'I remember saying to them "everyone seems quite happy about the fact that I'm here.

His mum first said to him "I don't think I ever want to see you again", and an hour later [she] rang back and said "Of course I do, bring her down tomorrow."

Jayne-Anne Gadhia

'They said "You don't really understand the language. You don't know what they're saying and I said "Grandad seems quite happy" and one of the boys said: "Grandad's blind, he doesn't know you're white."

The high-flying mother-of-one has been candid about her personal and profession life, and has previously discussed her battle with depression and her fertility struggles.

When the woman many regard as Britain's most successful banker gave birth to her Amy, now 14, she says a doctor recognised that she was suffering from post natal depression, a situation that became so grave, she convinced herself that her baby had died.

She explains that intervention by medical staff was crucial: 'It was knowing what I was dealing with that helped me to deal with it.

'I think if I'd have just gone on and not realised that I had a clinical problem and that depression wasn't something that you can just sort of push through, it would have been very different.'

The businesswoman told the BBC that sexist remarks do still happen in the City although progress has been made

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At 14, Jayne-Anne Gadhia was sent by her ambitious parents to a private boys school in Norfolk, one of just a few girls among several hundred boys.

Gadhia, now 55, met her accountant husband Ashok on the first day as a student at Royal Holloway University.

The couple, married for more than 35 years, struggled to conceive daughter Amy, now 14, and underwent six rounds of IVF before falling pregnant.

While Gadhia began her career as an accountant at Ernst and Young, she quickly rose up the ranks via management roles at Norwich Union and eventually found herself running Royal Bank of Scotland's £65billion mortgage business.

An orchestrated meeting through a friend with Richard Branson saw her jump ship to Virgin Money, where she's carved out a reputation as one of the most powerful female bankers in the country.

Virgin Money, under her control, is in rude health, recently reporting a 33 per cent surge in profits to £213million.

Life in the City has seen the mother-of-one flourish but she revealed that sexist remarks were still something women battled with, revealing that one colleague had asked her if she 'was going through the menopause' while another baulked at employing a woman 'in case she got pregnant'.

Gadhia also said that the highly stressful flotation of Virgin Money in 2007 had left her feeling at times like a failure in the pre-listing period and she contemplated 'an easier way out' if the deal wasn't a success.

She told the BBC: 'I always assumed that depression was something that was a bit weak-minded and when it hit me, I realised nothing could be further from the truth.'